The Streets - The Darker the Shadow the Brighter the Light - The Singles, Reviewed

The Streets - The Darker the Shadow the Brighter the Light - The Singles, Reviewed

After over 20 years in the limelight, I don’t think calling Mike Skinner a UK rap legend is unjustified. After a run of five great albums with The Streets, including classics like ‘Original Pirate Material’ and ‘A Grand Don’t Come For Free’, in which displayed his talent for creating gritty, homegrown production, complete with unorthodox delivery and witty lyricism, he retired the project in 2011 to focus on other ventures like The D.O.T. with Rob Harvey among others. However, Skinner returned to The Streets in 2017, citing the making of a self produced film and its accompanying soundtrack as the reason for his return. That’s not to say that’s all he’s been doing though, as in the time between his comeback and the film’s release, he’s seen fit to drop a fair bit of music, including various stand alone singles, a duets mixtape, the soundtrack’s sister album, (which at one point I mistook for the actual soundtrack), and an EP. Unfortunately though, aside from a few high points, most of this music I think can adequately be described as “various shades of meh.” Finally though, after reportedly over 10 years of work, the film is out now in Everyman Cinemas, and The Streets’ bonafide comeback album of the same name, ‘The Darker the Shadow the Brighter the Light’, is set for release on October 13th. I’ve yet to see the film, but let’s take a look at the singles and see if the decade’s worth of effort shows.

Too Much Yayo

I’ve got to admit I’ve had a bit of a personal aversion to some of Mike’s more modern production that goes for kind of a “bass heavy jump up wub-wub banger” style, but gladly enough for me, this track is a rare instance of that style done right. The track starts off as quite a dramatic trap track, combining a rubbery synth lead with ominous eerie synths with metallic, industrial drums, and it has a really cool vibe to it, particularly when the elements come together on the chorus. It has a really cool, tense vibe. Then, following some really cinematic glassy chimes and whirring bass hits, the main danceable garage beat comes in, and the track goes into high gear. The bass wobbles that I would normally find quite annoying are actually really effective and kind of menacing here, particularly in how they’re offset by a deeper, more punchy bassline in a kind of low end trade off. Of course the drums are really nice and snappy too, and the vocal chops are quite effective as a nice extra flourish. It’s got that clarity that’s been missing from a lot of recent Streets material, while also sounding genuinely pretty mean without veering into generic, meatheaded club fodder. I think Mike pulled off a pretty impressive balancing act here. Speaking of Mike, I think his vocals are a marked improvement here. Granted, he’s not the greatest singer, so perhaps the hook could’ve been a bit cleaner, but it still works pretty damn well, and isn’t nearly as wince inducing as other recent examples. Some might find some of his more offbeat deliveries throughout this song a little weird, but to me that’s just kind of part and parcel of what he does, so I’m just kind of used to it. Critically though, he sounds really damn confident on the mic here, which is again something I feel was slightly missing from his recent output, but is greatly improved. So his delivery might seem a bit unorthodox, but damn he carries it off well. I will say though that while Kevin Mark Trail’s inclusion is certainly a nice idea, the way that he only interjects about four or five lines in the whole track makes it feel a bit like a token gesture honestly. As far as lyrics go though, Mike’s in good form there as well. This isn’t really a track of his where the rhymes are packed full of esoteric references and wordplay, but what he does do, very effectively I might add, is paint a picture, as he divulges how people go clubbing and indulge in drinking and drugs to escape their own lives, but how in actuality, it’s not much of an escape at all, and actually a nightclub is as much a prison as anywhere, even comparing the overhead spotlight to an Alcatraz search light. It’s all done I think very cleverly, with a real intriguing use of imagery and turns of phrase I find to be pretty unique to Mike, and it’s one of the things that make him so great in my eyes. So to sum up, this takes a lot of similar ideas to those presented in other recent Streets music that I haven’t really liked, but does them in a way where they come across a hell of a lot more enjoyable.

Each Day Gives

I’ll say straight away that this is probably my least favourite of the three singles released so far, but that said, like almost all Streets tracks, there are merits in quite a few places. To start with the beat, I do like quite a few elements of it. It has the very choppy, slightly offbeat, D.I.Y, smash and grab type style of post-reunion Streets, but with some of the bright melodic exuberance of ‘Computers and Blues’ coming through too, which is certainly a tick in my book. Melding together tender string sections and wistful electronic keys with bright staccato pianos and the occasional funky guitar lick I can see putting some off with how slapdash it seems, but I enjoy it. However, in terms of the drum programming, while the kick and snare do still have a decent degree of punch, they don’t quite have the sharpness or depth I maybe would’ve liked, and the fluctuating pitch and tone of the hi-hats does admittedly stick out like a sore thumb and can be a bit distracting. So overall not perfect, but again, there’s certainly some positives. Turning to lyrics and vocals, while Mike certainly continues the trend of sounding more energised than on more recent material, which is good, it’s probably the closest he’s come to slipping back into dull, deadpan territory, but I’d say he does just enough with variations and energy in his delivery and inflections to prevent falling into that trap. I know Mike has never exactly been the most animated rapper on the planet, and some people find his slightly awkward style quite irritating, when he pulls it off right, it works a treat, and while these tracks have definitely shown an improvement, this does kind of prove that it seems like a difficult style to get right sometimes, even for him. To end on a positive note though m while again the wonky autotune passages from Mike and Kevin on the chorus might not be for everyone, after repeat listens I do think it works decently, with a heap load of charm if nothing else. Finally, moving onto lyrics, the one word I keep coming back to is polarising. Some people find his wordplay and one liners to be both corny and needlessly smart arsed simultaneously, and while I can kind of see it, his lyrical style has always appealed to me, and this is no different, using many a cheeky turn of phrase to their full advantage, even if sometimes in context, I’ve no clue what they mean. Highlights include, “start the day with a smile and get it over with”, “like a fish out of water thrown out to sea”, and “like a broken record I make my mistake, everyone likes vinyl til they hide round a crate.” Some people may groan at Mike’s musings on day-to-day mundane life and social media, and the incessant repetition of the refrain does get a little old, but the one thing I can give Mike above all is that he’s maybe the only rapper I know who can be identified merely from a lyrical style, and that to me is a positive. If I had to sum this track up, I’d say it’s divisive because it shows a number of “Mike Skinner-isms” at quite high potency, both musically and lyrically. Some will hate it, some will love it, but I find myself somewhere in the middle.

Troubled Waters

It seems like a similar approach to the last track was taken on this one, a kind of “if it ain't broke” mentality if you will, but personally I don’t mind that at all really, as it’s another pretty strong one. The synth stabs that go throughout the track have a really dramatic, sorrowful sound to them, which is aided really nicely by Mike’s more measured, pensive delivery on this track, while still displaying a decently high level of conviction in his performance. The beat in the first half could’ve definitely been built out though, as the trap beat that they go for feels very scattershot and minimal, and without much momentum to it. That said it does seem that the focal point is meant to be the vocals and the synths, but some more prominent beats wouldn’t have hurt. This problem is mostly remedied with the introduction of a kind of industrial sounding breakbeat in the second half, which does add some much needed momentum and danceability which works quite effectively. Admittedly as far as breakbeats go I do find the percussive timbre they went for a bit odd, perhaps in part due to the almost complete lack of bass, but that’s maybe just because I’m more accustomed to your tried and true breakbeat sounds. Equally, I think if I got to the second half and a load of bashing amen breaks came in I’d be a little put off as well, so I’m not to sure what else they could’ve done, apart from, as I say, add some bass to give it that real low-end rumble. The bridge is a pretty decent moment as well. Despite the more lo-fi sound quality feeling a little strange and out of place, the transition and integration of some sombre piano lies into the synth pads works rather nicely, with a decent sense of drama like the rest of the track, particularly with Kevin Mark Trail’s emotive vocals. Moving onto the vocals and lyrics then, Mike I think has another pretty solid showing here. Again it’s a more subdued, slightly more monotone performance, but still with a palpable sense of wistfulness, sadness and contemplation coming through, lending well to the lyrics as Mike, observing the comings and goings from the nightclub, seems to begin to question and become saddened by the fact that people who seem to hate their lives already, come to the nightclub seemingly with the sole aim of getting inebriated and starting fights with strangers rather than just have, which only feeds into the tragedy. Think maybe ‘Geezers Need Excitement’ or ‘Blinded By The Lights’, but with a more philosophical, tragic twist. It once again results in a very strong, vivid set of lyrics that paint a very compelling picture of a scenario. I imagine we can expect a fair bit more of that with it being a soundtrack album, but it’s encouraging to see it going well already. Not to mention the contributions of Kevin Mark Trail, who, in classic Streets fashion, works brilliantly as a counterpoint to Mike, not only delivering a damn catchy, yet downtrodden and thoroughly emotive refrain on the chorus, but also presenting some cool melodic background vocals throughout that really make a lot of difference, and lend to the track’s sorrowful vibe even more, to great effect. I may have had a few more nitpicks with this track than I did the previous, but overall I still view it very positively.

So overall this leaves me pretty damn excited for the full album when it comes out. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not expecting it to be a career highlight or anything, but when I listen to the other stuff Mike’s done recently, and think about the quality of stuff a proper Streets comeback should have on it, especially after 12 years, I hear this and go “this is more like it.” Hopefully the film should be pretty good as well, but until it gets a wide release, we’ll have to wait and see.